All Places
We are dedicated to preventing suicide attempts by empowering individuals and communities through leadership, awareness and education and by identifying and collaborating with support networks to reduce stigma and help save lives.
Individuals are referred to us via their GP or have come to us themselves, sometimes in emergency situations. We carry out professional training on suicide prevention and coping with trolling, Bereavement support, Psychological Support Clinic, Men’s depression support group, Fishing projects and pony summer school.
We are more recently trying to raise awareness of cyber bullying amongst young people, aiming to give young people the knowledge and confidence to seek help and talk to an adult if they are every attacked online. We offer support to all age groups.
Suicide Prevention
Self Harm
Eating Disorders
Bereavement Anxiety
Our Mission
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention is a cross community inclusive organisation contributing to the aims and objectives of the Government’s Protect Life Strategy NI. We are dedicated to the prevention of suicide attempts throughout the community by empowering individuals and communities through leadership, awareness, and education. This is carried out by collaborative partnerships with other mental health support groups including colleges universities and the wider business community.
Home-Start provides support to families at home helping parents to build better lives for their children. Volunteers who are parents themselves are recruited and trained to visit families who have difficulties and or problems related to child protection, mental health, disabilities, drug and alcohol misuse, isolation, multiple births, deprivation and domestic violence. Home-Start supports families across the four levels of need and believes that the earlier you intervene in a childs life the better their chances of growing up healthy and happy. Volunteers go into the family home to help parents and children feel less marginalised and families develop improved coping strategies. Home-Start support is flexible and tailor made as parents co-design their own support, identifying needs and are involved in assessing and reviewing their progress.
The following services are available in the Newry and Mourne Area :
Family Groups – Children have Toys, Fun and Activities. They do games music and rhymes. Parties and Outings are arranged. Healthy Refreshments are provided and children are encouraged to socialise.
Parents can make new friends, have a break from normal routine, share skills and ideas, learn new parenting skills and avail of friendly, confidential support from staff if they have any concerns.
Newry Group – Monday-Thursday mornings 10am to 12pm
Warrenpoint Family Group – Thursday mornings 10am to 12pm
Rapid Response Service is tailored to meet the individual needs of every family.
The Rapid Response worker will work closely with parents and offer friendly support to families. This short term, intensive, home based support promotes parenting skills and provides practical guidance to achieve positive change and development for families.
The Rapid Response worker is available to support parents in their home if they feel this would help them to gain confidence in establishing new techniques and routine.
The worker will carry out a planned piece of work with each family. This will invlove encouraging and supporting parents in a number of specific parenting tasks such as behaviour management, bedtime or mealtime routines, household management, budgeting, nutrition and bonding and attachment.
Parenting Project Worker – works closely with parents and offers friendly support to families. Referrals mus meet the criteria that there is at least one child under 5 yrs in the home. The short term intensive home-based support promotes parenting skills and provides practical guidance to achieve positive change and development for families.
Contact Home Start on 028 3026 6139
Home-Start provides support to families at home helping parents to build better lives for their children.
Volunteers who are parents themselves are recruited and trained to visit families who have difficulties and or problems related to child protection, mental health, disabilities, drug and alcohol misuse, isolation, multiple births, deprivation and domestic violence.
Home-Start supports families across the four levels of need and believes that the earlier you intervene in a childs life the better their chances of growing up healthy and happy. Volunteers go into the family home to help parents and children feel less marginalised and families develop improved coping strategies.
Home-Start support is flexible and tailor made as parents co-design their own support, identifying needs and are involved in assessing and reviewing their progress. Method of Access: GP, Health Visitor, Self, Social Worker, Family Support Hub.
We also run accredited baby programmes, mainly (though not exclusively) for first time parents. In addition to these we have a music and movement programme for older children which runs several times from September through to June.
To meet our referral criteria there must be a child under 5 in the family
Health Visitors are registered Nurses with an additional qualification in child health/development and family health.
Health visiting is a proactive, universal service that provides a platform from which to reach out to individuals and vulnerable groups, considering their different dynamics and needs, and reducing inequalities in health.
Your Health Visiting team can offer a family centred service from pregnancy until your child goes to school. We can offer advice and support on matters such as:
Play, stimulation and child development
Nutrition
Breastfeeding
Weaning
Healthy eating 1-5 years
Sleeping
Immunisations
Keeping your child safe
Toileting
When will I see my Health Visitor?
Our aim is to provide you with the help you need at the right time. Contacts will vary depending on your family’s needs. You will be visited at home and/or places (e.g. health centres) most suited to your needs. The usual contacts offered by the Health Visitor are:
An antenatal visit after 28 weeks
A new birth visit between 10 and 14 days
6 to 8 weeks
14 to 16 weeks
6 to 9 months (Health Visitor or Child Health Assistant)
After your child’s first and second birthday’s 3+ year review in nursery school
How can I contact the Health Visiting Team?
Every GP practice has a named Health Visitor.
Your Health Visitor will provide you with their contact details which they will write in your Parent Child Held Record (Red book)
. If this information is not available, please contact your GP who will provide you with up to date contact information.
Our aim is to transform the future of people with learning disability, acquired brain injury or autistic spectrum condition.
Adult Services include :-
Supported Living Services
Supported Living offers the people we support the opportunity to live where and how they choose – in a home of their own or with people they choose to live with.
Location: Bangor, Belfast, Cookstown, Enniskillen, Lisburn, Lisnaskea, Magherafelt, Newtownards, Omagh and Portavogie.
Peripatetic Housing Support Services
Peripatetic Housing Support Services are for people who already have their own tenancy. These services generally offer a lower level of support, sometimes for a shorter term.
Location: Cookstown, Enniskillen, Omagh and Southern Health & Social Care Trust (Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon, Dungannon and Newry) areas. A number of these services also provide other supports, for example, with people’s “care”.
Residential Short Breaks
Residential short breaks offer opportunities to spend time away from family and give families a break from caring.
Our Short Break Service based in North Belfast offers people with a learning disability the opportunity to spend time away from their families, gaining greater independence while allowing their loved ones a break from their caring responsibilities. Our new purpose–built facility supports up to 5 people at any one time.
Location: Belfast.
Shared Lives Service
The Shared Lives Service gives adults the opportunity to live with and be supported by another family or individual (a Shared Lives carer). It also enables people who live with their own family to have short breaks with another family or an individual. This gives their own families a break (respite) from full–time caring. This service depends on families or individuals volunteering to provide placements thereby becoming a Shared Lives carer.
CHILDREN & FAMILIES SERVICES
We provide emotional and practical support to families who have a child or adult with a learning disability using person centred, community development approaches.
Family Support Services for children and families
As the name suggests, staff and volunteers from these services support the whole family. They provide opportunities for children and young people to become more involved in the community and make it possible for parents, brothers and sisters to enjoy fuller lives.
Location: Bangor, Lisburn and South East Fermanagh (Lisnaskea area).
Better Futures
Better Futures – family supports for older carers
Better Futures, which we established with support from the Big Lottery Fund, is a project for older people who care for a family member with a learning disability.
Research has shown that older carers often feel isolated and are fearful about the future care of their children. Better Futures staff and volunteers provide advice and practical supports as well as helping them plan ahead, so that we don’t have the appalling situation in which people hope their children die before them.
If you’re 60+ and care for a person with a learning disability, speak to your Social Worker about our Better Futures Project.
Location: Bangor and Lisburn areas.
For more information, contact Anne Murphy, Project Co–ordinator on 028 9147 5720 or info@positive-futures.net.
Better Together
Better Together – bringing together young adults with a learning disability and other young adults to pursue shared interests
This project is designed to bring together young adults with a learning disability and other young adults who volunteer to help them follow their interests. Each participant is matched with a mentor who supports the young person for one to two years. During this time, the person being supported will gain confidence and attain goals that might otherwise have proved impossible. We work in partnership with Belfast HSC Trust.
Location: Belfast
For more information, contact Gregg Nicholl, Project Co–ordinator on 028 9074 1271 or info@positive-futures.net.
Positive Behaviour Support
Positive behaviour support is an approach that helps reduce stress in the people we support and their carers
It does so by establishing the causes of behaviour that challenges and addressing these. In Positive Futures, positive behaviour support is coordinated through a steering group made up of senior operational managers, Service Managers, our Behaviour Support Coordinator and our external consultant from Studio III, Andy McDonnell.
Positive behaviour support within Positive Futures includes training for staff and support and guidance on managing behaviours that challenge.
The Coordinator of this service is Darragh McCullagh
Helping people live the life they want
“The Life I Want” – empowering adults with a learning disability, acquired brain injury or autistic spectrum condition to have choice and independence to live the life they want now and in the future
“The Life I Want” is a way to enable the people we support in our Supported Living Services to make decisions about how they spend their time, who they want to support them and how they are supported. As part of this, we work closely with the people we support, their family, friends and staff from other organisations, listening to everyone’s opinions so we can understand what is important to and for the person now and in the future. We call this event “Planning Live”.
A variety of person–centred tools are used throughout “The Life I Want” process to help us learn and understand what a “perfect week” looks like for each person. By thinking about what each person would like to do with their support hours, we can begin to assess what is achievable, and how we can ensure the person receives the right amount of support to enable them to achieve the life they want.
By empowering the people we support to make their own decisions and by challenging our own thinking about how we can fulfil these wishes, the people we support can achieve greater choice and independence to live life as they choose.
Participation
We put the people we support first – always
This is the first of our Organisational Values and in each Corporate Plan our first Strategic Aim always relates to the people we support. In order to put people first as an Organisation, we need to ensure that the voice of the people we support is heard in decision making at all levels within Positive Futures.
We do this through our Participation Strategy which is delivered by our Participation Worker and has resulted in the establishment of a range of participation groups, including the Advisory Board and groups within Services and Projects and the involvement of the people we support.
Mid-Ulster and South Tyrone (MUST) Hostel offers accommodation, support and help, tailored to the specific needs of single people who are homeless and aged 18-65.
At Extern’s MUST Hostel, our primary objective is to provide a contemporary and adaptable supported housing service that prioritises the holistic well-being of each individual.
Our approach revolves around flexibility, recognising and addressing the unique and varied needs of every resident. With a capacity of 20 beds, we extend a warm welcome to both men and women seeking refuge and support.
Our distinction as a Probation Approved Hostel signifies a critical partnership with PBNI, enabling us to offer supervised accommodation for individuals under specific supervision, including those subject to licenses or other restrictions.
This collaboration allows us to provide a secure and supportive environment, fostering positive progress and aiding in the process of reintegrating individuals into the community.
Beyond the provision of housing, our focus is on the comprehensive support and guidance we offer. Our dedicated team works tirelessly to create a safe space where residents can access not only accommodation but also a range of tailored services and programs designed to meet their diverse needs.
Through individualised care plans and a holistic approach, we aim to empower residents, helping them navigate challenges and progress towards their goals.
How do I get support?
Tel: +44 (0)28 8676 2065
Email: mustadmin@extern.org
The Marie Curie Patient and Family Support Team offer emotional, spiritual, psychological and practical support to patients, families and carers impacted by a life-limiting illness.
This service is available to families throughout Northern Ireland.
The team is comprised of social workers, counsellors and a chaplain.
Types of support provided:
Providing a safe space to talk about what’s important to you
Legacy work – creating memories
Assistance with applying for benefits
Arranging practical assistance at home or helping to find alternative accommodation
Giving advice and support with planning a funeral
Giving advice and support regarding wills and legal matters
Helping children to talk about death and dying
Spiritual support
Counselling support
Bereavement support
If you or a loved one is living with a terminal illness and would like a referral, please contact your
District Nurse
,
GP
or
Hospital Consultant
Information for healthcare professionals
Health Visitors are registered Nurses with an additional qualification in child health/development and family health.
Health visiting is a proactive, universal service that provides a platform from which to reach out to individuals and vulnerable groups, considering their different dynamics and needs, and reducing inequalities in health.
Your Health Visiting team can offer a family centred service from pregnancy until your child goes to school. We can offer advice and support on matters such as:
Play, stimulation and child development
Nutrition
Breastfeeding
Weaning
Healthy eating 1-5 years
Sleeping
Immunisations
Keeping your child safe
Toileting
When will I see my Health Visitor?
Our aim is to provide you with the help you need at the right time. Contacts will vary depending on your family’s needs. You will be visited at home and/or places (e.g. health centres) most suited to your needs. The usual contacts offered by the Health Visitor are:
An antenatal visit after 28 weeks
A new birth visit between 10 and 14 days
6 to 8 weeks
14 to 16 weeks
6 to 9 months (Health Visitor or Child Health Assistant)
After your child’s first and second birthday’s 3+ year review in nursery school
How can I contact the Health Visiting Team?
Every GP practice has a named Health Visitor.
Your Health Visitor will provide you with their contact details which they will write in your Parent Child Held Record (Red book).
If this information is not available, please contact your GP who will provide you with up to date contact information.
The Mid Ulster Child Contact Centre provides contact for mums, dads, parents and grandparents to have good positive contact in a safe, secure and child friendly environment with trained volunteers who are impartial and welcoming to all families.
MUCCC is a stepping stone to allow families time to build trust and children to have contact with the non-resident parent while other issues are being sorted out.
Opening Hours
Saturdays 10.00am – 12 noon Wednesday 64.00pm -7.30pm.
Referral by: Self, Social Worker, Solicitor & Courts.
See
website
for more information
Health Visitors are registered Nurses with an additional qualification in child health/development and family health.
Health visiting is a proactive, universal service that provides a platform from which to reach out to individuals and vulnerable groups, considering their different dynamics and needs, and reducing inequalities in health.
Your Health Visiting team can offer a family centred service from pregnancy until your child goes to school. We can offer advice and support on matters such as:
Play, stimulation and child development
Nutrition
Breastfeeding
Weaning
Healthy eating 1-5 years
Sleeping
Immunisations
Keeping your child safe
Toileting
When will I see my Health Visitor?
Our aim is to provide you with the help you need at the right time. Contacts will vary depending on your family’s needs. You will be visited at home and/or places (e.g. health centres) most suited to your needs. The usual contacts offered by the Health Visitor are:
An antenatal visit after 28 weeks
A new birth visit between 10 and 14 days
6 to 8 weeks
14 to 16 weeks
6 to 9 months (Health Visitor or Child Health Assistant)
After your child’s first and second birthday’s 3+ year review in nursery school
How can I contact the Health Visiting Team?
Every GP practice has a named Health Visitor.
Your Health Visitor will provide you with their contact details which they will write in your Parent Child Held Record (Red book).
If this information is not available, please contact your GP who will provide you with up to date contact information.